


A Whole New World

by ChloeOgradyXo



Category: Grey's Anatomy, Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 02:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22008190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeOgradyXo/pseuds/ChloeOgradyXo
Summary: Victoria Hughes and Lucas Ripley have been dating for just over six months. They've managed to keep it secret but how will everyone at 19 react when they find out? When someone from Lucas' past resurfaces, how will Vic react?
Relationships: Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley
Kudos: 15





	1. Prologue

Lucas Ripley and Victoria "Vic" Hughes have been dating for just over six months. As Lucas is the fire chief of the Seattle Fire Department and Vic is just an ordinary firefighter at Station 19, they have to keep their relationship on the down-low due to it being against the rules. Despite this, Travis Montgomery, Luitenant Jack Gibson and Captain Robert Sullivan have figured it out - all agreeing to keep the secret. Even though Vic and Lucas have been together for over half a year, there are still some things that they don't know about each other, things that can make or break a relationship. Lucas holds the biggest secret of them all - how will Vic react?

.

Vic walks into the kitchen/dining area at Station 19 with a spring in her step. Travis, who is stood at the kitchen counter, grins. 

'Morning.' Vic chirps, looking at everyone sat at the table.

'Someone's happy for a Monday morning.' Andrea "Andy" Herrera laughs. 

'Positivity, Herrera, positivity.' Vic states as she pours herself a mug of coffee.

'Okay.' Maya sighs. 'What's his name?'

'I don't know what you mean.' Vic shrugs acting innocent. 'I'm going to go and make a start on inventory.' 

'I'll come and help.' Travis says. Both firefighters make their way to the barn to make a start on inventory. Travis looks around and makes sure that no-one is around to listen to what they're about to talk about. Once he's sure that the coast is clear, he nudges Vic. 'So, what's got you so happy?' 

'Lucas and I started talking about kids.' Vic smiles.

'Seriously?' Travis raises an eyebrow. 'You guys have only just started talking about getting married.' He adds, laughing. 'Does Ripley want kids?' 

'Yeah.' Vic nods. 'I mean, he seemed enthusiastic enough.' 

'What do you mean by that?' Travis asks. 

'I don't know.' Vic shakes his head. 'When I mentioned kids, something just changed, I could see it in his eyes but I could also see that he does want kids.'

'Well, did you ask him?' Travis queries. Vic keeps silent. 'Vic!' 

'I didn't have time to! Okay! We're going to talk more about it at breakfast tomorrow.' Vic tells him. 'I promise.' 

.

It's lunchtime. Everyone is sat at the table eating lunch when the bells go off. 

**Aid car 19. Pedestrian versus auto. Corner of John Street and Broad Street.**

Travis and Maya jump up from their seats run down to the aid car, get in and make their way to the scene of the accident. 

.

When they arrive at the scene of the accident, they see that the police already have the scene cornered off. Travis parks the aid car before they jump out and put their gloves on. As they're getting the gurney, backboard, defibrillator and jump bags out of the aid car, Officer Ryan Tanner walks up to them. 

'Patient is seventeen.' He informs them. 'According to witnesses, a car mounted the sidewalk and she couldn't get out of the way in time. The car crashed into the tree but the driver took off. Girl's name is Charlotte Granger but she says that she prefers to be called Charlie.'

'Thanks, Ryan.' Travis nods. They all walk over to where Charlotte is. She's lying flat on her back with a police officer keeping her head stable. Both Travis and Maya kneel down beside her. 

'Hi, Charlie.' Travis smiles. 'I'm Travis, this is Maya.' 

'Hi.' Charlotte smiles weakly. 'Is all this really necessary?' 

'Well, you've just been hit by a car so I'd say yes, it is.' Maya nods. 

'I'm fine.' Charlotte assures them. 'It's probably just a few bumps and bruises.' 

'We still have to check you over, Charlie.' Maya tells her. 

'Can you tell me where you feel any pain.' Travis asks as he starts the physical examination. 

'No-where.' Charlotte states. Travis continues the physical exam. As soon as he presses onto her abdomen, she winces in pain.

'You feel pain there?' Travis asks. 

'Only when you press onto it.' Charlotte replies. 

'Do you mind if we take a look?' Maya queries.

'Yeah.' Charlotte consents. Travis slowly raises her top and sees a scar. When there are a few moments of silence, Charlotte sighs. 'You're looking at my scar, aren't you?'

'How'd you get it?' Travis questions. 

'I have endometriosis, a couple of months ago, I had a laparoscopy to remove some tissue because it was getting too painful but there were some complications so they had to change to open surgery.' Charlotte explains. 

'Can you tell if the pain is related to your endometriosis?' Maya questions. 

'It's not. It's a different kind of pain.' Charlotte tells them. 

'Okay, then.' Travis nods. 'What we'll do then is we will get you immobilised and onto the gurney, into the aid car and then we'll do the rest of our checks there to give you some privacy. Once we've done our checks, we will take you to Grey-Sloan. Is that where you had your surgery?' 

'Yeah.' Charlotte responds. 'The surgeon was Doctor Carina DeLuca.' 

'We'll get her to meet us in the ED.' Maya states. 'They'll call your mom and dad there.' 

'I wouldn't bother calling my mom, she's out of state.' Charlotte says. 'I'm staying with a friend. As for my dad, I'm not that close with him so I'd rather if you didn't call him.' 

'We have to notify him since you're a minor.' Travis raises an eyebrow. 

'It'd be easier if you guys did that then.' Charlotte sighs. Travis and Maya look at each other with confusion then back at the young girl.

'Why?' Maya asks. 

'My dad's your fire chief. Lucas Ripley.' 


	2. Chapter 2

'You're Ripley's daughter?' Travis asks, shocked. 

'Yeah.' Charlotte sighs. 'Like I said, we're not close. We talk a couple of times a week and see each other maybe once or twice and month.'

'We'll radio him on our way to Grey-Sloan.' Maya nods. 'We're going to get you onto the backboard now. If you feel any pain, just let us know, okay?' 

'Yeah.' Charlotte replies. They roll Charlotte onto the backboard, put the C-Collar around her neck and stabilise her head. Once she's strapped onto the backboard they lift her onto the gurney. Ryan walks up to them. 

'I'll follow you guys to the hospital, I'm going to need a statement from her.' Ryan tells them. 

'That's fine.' Travis nods. He then looks down at Charlotte. 'Okay then, Charlie. We're going to get you into the aid car and do some proper checks.' Maya and Travis wheel Charlotte over to the aid car, lift her in, get in themselves and close the doors behind them. 

'Charlie, we're going to check your heart rate, your blood pressure and your oxygen levels.' Maya tells her as she hooks her up to the machines. 'We'll be able to tell if you have any internal bleeding.' 

'I know you're only doing your job but I've been part of the junior paramedic's programme and army cadets since I was thirteen, I know what all the checks are for and what they do.' Charlotte says. 'I know you're explaining what you're doing to keep me calm but it's fine.'

'Fair enough.' Maya smiles. 'You're not in pain anywhere else?' 

'No.' Charlotte responds. Travis sits on the bench and starts taking note of Charlotte's vital signs. 

'It doesn't look like you've got any broken bones, which is good.' Maya says.

'Right then, Charlie.' Travis sighs, once he's finished taking notes. 'All of your vital signs are within the normal ranges. Your blood pressure _is_ on the lower side though. It's nothing to worry about right now.' 

'Like I said.' Charlotte smiles. 'Bumps and bruises.'

'I'll drive.' Maya states. She gets out of the back and runs around to the driver's cabin. Travis buckles himself in.

'Ready when you are Bishop!' Travis shouts. A few minutes later, Maya pulls away and starts the drive to Grey-Slogan. After a couple of minutes, Travis clears his throat. 'So, erm, Charlie, how come you're not close with your dad?'

'It's always been that way.' Charlotte says. 'My mom would barely let him see me when I was a kid because of his job and all. When I was thirteen, my dad went to court to try and get 50/50 custody, but it didn't work and that's that. My mom re-married a couple of years ago.'

'Your dad hasn't mentioned you before.'

'Doesn't surprise me.' Charlotte sighs. 'I bet he hasn't told his new girlfriend about me.'

'You know that he's dating someone?' Travis asks shocked.

'He's my dad. Of course I do.' Charlotte laughs. 'By your reaction, I guess you're her best friend and that you're one of the few people who know.'

'Yeah.' Travis laughs and nods. 'She wants to have kids but apparently your dad kind of hesitated or something like that.'

'It's because of me. Obviously.' Charlotte states. 'He doesn't want to go through what he went through with me and my mom again.'

'She - Vic - wouldn't do that to him.' Travis shakes his head.

'He wants another kid. I know he does.' Charlotte tells him. 'The last time we met which was about two, maybe three, weeks ago, he was saying how it would have been nice and still would be nice if I had a younger brother or sister that could look up to me and such.' The aid car comes to a halt and the back doors open a minute later. Dr Carina DeLuca, Dr Owen Hunt and Dr Alex Karev alongside some nurses are stood waiting. Maya helps Travis bring the gurney down. As they're doing that, Travis does the handover.

'This is Charlotte Granger - Charlie. She's seventeen. She was hit by a car. No obvious external trauma.' He starts as they wheel Charlotte into the ED. 'She has endometriosis. She informed us that she's recently undergone surgery for it by Dr DeLuca.' The doctors look at Carina who nods. 'Charlie has been complaining of abdominal pain. We're not sure whether it's from the endometriosis or internal trauma.' He continues as they wheel Charlotte into a trauma room. They line the gurney up with the bed and transfer her over. Pulse is 92, SATs are 100, GCS 15, BP is 95/70.'

'Her father is on his way. We called him en route.' Maya tells them. She had radioed Lucas before pulling away from the scene of the accident.

'Thank you.' Owen nods at Travis and Maya before they both leave. The nurses hook Charlotte up to the hospital monitors. 'Hi, Charlie.' He smiles. 'I'm Dr Hunt, this is Dr Karev and you know Dr DeLuca.'

'Charlie, have you felt any pains before today in your tummy?' Carina asks the young girl.

'A little bit.' Charlotte admits. 'But nothing bad.'

'Ultrasound.' Carina looks at a nurse. The nurse nods and walks out of the room.

'We'll send you for a head, neck, spinal and abdominal CT once Dr DeLuca has done the ultrasound.' Alex informs Charlotte. 'You look like you got off lucky, though. We just need to investigate why your blood pressure is so low.' The nurse returns with the ultrasound and wheels it to Carina who starts to set it up. She lifts Charlotte's top slightly up and gets the gel bottle in her hand ready.

'You know the drill.' Carina smiles. She puts a blob of the gel on Charlotte's stomach, places the transducer and runs it across Charlotte's abdomen, applying slight pressure as she does. She studies the scan. 'There's no tissue growing anywhere it shouldn't be.' Carina shakes her head. She moves the transducer higher up. After a minute, she turns the screen so that Owen and Alex can see it.

'Free fluid in the abdomen.' Alex states. 'There doesn't happen to be any active bleeding.'

'Charlie, you've got some free fluid in your abdomen. It looks like you've injured your left kidney. Since there's no active bleeding, we'll take you into surgery and get rid of the blood.' Owen tells Charlotte.

'One more thing.' Carina says and looks at Charlotte and then back at Owen and Alex. 'Charlie has hypercoagulation.'

'That's gonna make surgery a lot more difficult.' Alex sighs.

'Then let's get her to CT and then to surgery ASAP.' Owen says. As they're wheeling Charlotte out of the room to take her to CT, Lucas runs up to them.

'Is she okay?' He asks, frantically. 'I'm her dad.'

'Carina.' Owen motions for Carina to stay and explain what's going on to him. She nods and does so as Owen and Alex continue their way to CT.

'Charlie has some internal bleeding. It looks like it's from the left kidney but it appears to have stopped. Dr Hunt and Dr Karev are going to take her to CT to make sure that there's no damage to her head, neck and spine.' Carina explains. 'As for the endometriosis, there isn't any tissue growing where it shouldn't be.'

'How long will the surgery take?' Lucas queries.

'It's hard to say.' Carina shakes her head.

'Can I see her before she goes in?'

'Of course.' Carina nods. 'Follow me.' Carina leads him up to the surgical floor. By the time they're there, Owen and Alex are about to wheel her into pre-op. As there's no damage to the head, neck or spine, the c-collar and backboard have been removed and Charlotte is now sitting up. 'Dr Hunt!' She calls out as she walks up to them with Lucas. 'Mr Ripley would like a few minutes with his daughter before she goes into surgery.'

'Please.' Lucas looks at Owen and Alex.

'A few minutes.' Owen confirms. The three doctors walks away leaving Lucas and Charlotte. He goes to hold Charlotte's hand but she jerks it away.

'Charlie-' Lucas sighs.

'You haven't told anyone about me.' Charlotte says quietly, tears in her eyes. 'Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?' She looks at him. 'The medics that brought me in were shocked when I said that you were my dad. You go on about how much you love me and then you don't tell your colleagues or your girlfriend about me. That's just - I can't--' She turns her head to face Owen and Alex. 'Can we go?'

'Sure.' Owen nods. Alongside Alex, walks back up to her. She looks back at her dad.

'If you don't tell _at least_ your girlfriend about me, I'm done with you.' Charlotte tells him, her eyes going dark. 'I won't ever see or speak to you again.' With that, Alex and Owen wheel Charlotte down to pre-op leaving Lucas to think about the ultimatum his daughter has just given him.


	3. Chapter 3

'If you don't tell _at least_ your girlfriend about me, I'm done with you.' Charlotte tells Lucas, her eyes going dark. 'I won't ever see or speak to you again.' With that, Alex and Owen wheel Charlotte down to pre-op leaving Lucas to think about the ultimatum his daughter has just given him.

.

It's a few hours later, Lucas is standing outside the main entrance to Grey-Sloan Memorial when Vic walks up to him.

'Hey.' She smiles before they kiss. 'How come you wanted to meet here?' She asks once they've parted. Lucas takes her hand. 

'Come with me.' He tells her. They both walk into the hospital and up to the surgical recovery wing. 

'What are we doing here?' Vic questions confused.

'I haven't been entirely honest with you.' Lucas states as he stops and turns to face her. 'I was going to tell you but I've been waiting for the right time.'

'Luke, you're scaring me.' Vic says. Lucas turns back around and leads her to the room where Charlotte is being kept until a bed is available on the main ward. They look in through the window. 'Who's that?' 

'That is Charlotte.' Lucas replies. 'Charlotte Granger.' He continues. 'My daughter. She prefers to be called Charlie though.' 

'Your what?!' Vic exclaims as she turns to face him. 'That's why you hesitated when I said that I wanted kids.' She realises. 'You already have one.' 

'I want more kids. I do. With you.' Lucas states going to hold her hands but she steps back. 

'How old is she?' 

'Seventeen.' Lucas replies. 'Her mom has full custody of her but I get to see her a couple of times a month and we text or talk on the phone a couple of times during the week. We don't exactly have the best relationship.' 

'If you don't have any form of custody over her, how did you find out that she was here?' Vic queries. 

'Bishop and Montogomery were the medics that were sent out to her. She was hit by a car - luckily she's going to be fine - when she told them that she's my daughter, Bishop radioed me.' Lucas explains.

'Where's her mom?'

'Apparently, she's out of state.' Lucas sighs. 'Look, I know I should have told you sooner and I wanted to but I didn't know how'd you react. I don't want to lose you.' 

'I need some time to process this.' Vic says quietly. 'I'll call you later.' She then walks off to go back to work. 

.

Arriving back at Station 19, Vic pulls Travis into the meeting room. 

'Ripley told you then?' Travis queries.

'Yeah.' She nods. 'He asked me to meet him at the hospital and then he took me up to her room.'

'What did he say?' 

'That they weren't close.' Vic shrugs. 'That her mom has full custody of her. He said that he wanted to tell me sooner but he didn't know how I would react and that he didn't want to lose me. I told him that I need time to process it all.' She adds. 'He told me that you and Maya were the ones that were called to her after she was hit by a car.'

'Yeah.' Travis nods. 'She got lucky. Is she okay?' 

'Lucas said she was going to be fine. She must have had surgery though because he took me to the surgical recovery wing.' She replies. 'He _did_ mention that he did want kids with _me_ though.' Vic adds as she smiles slightly. 'You see, _this_ is why I need the time to process everything. I'm angry at him for not telling me that he has a daughter but at the same time I'm over the moon that he wants to have kids with me.' 

'Don't take too long.' Travis raises an eyebrow. 'Remember that she's his daughter. She will always come before you.' 

'Yeah.' Vic sighs and nods. 

.

Back at the hospital, Lucas is sitting in the chair beside Charlotte's bed when she hears her groan a little. He looks at her and sees that she's opening her eyes. 

'Charlie?' He sits up in his chair. 

'Did you- did you tell her yet?' Charlotte asks him weekly once her eyes are open. 

'Yeah.' Lucas nods.

'Where is she?' 

'She had to go back to work.' Lucas replies. 'She said that she needed time to process everything.' Charlotte goes to sit up a bit more but groans in pain. 'Hey, take it easy. You're not long out of surgery. I'll go and get the doctor.' He stands up, walks out of the room and returns a couple of minutes later with Owen. 

'Hi, Charlie.' Owen smiles. 'How are you feeling?' 

'Sore.' Charlotte laughs slightly. Owen takes his stethoscope from around his neck and listens to Charlotte's chest. 

'Do you remember what happened?' Owen queries. 

'I was hit by a car.' Charlotte nods. 'You guys said something about internal bleeding?' 

'Yeah.' Owen nods. 'We got rid of the blood. You had a tiny tear in one of your renal veins so we put some dissolvable stitches in.' 

'When can I get discharged?' Charlotte questions.

'Hopefully, by the end of the week.' Owen responds. 'It goes without saying that you need to avoid any heavy lifting or strenuous exercise for a couple of months. A bed will be available on the main ward in about an hour so we'll move you there once they're ready for you.'

'Thanks.' Charlotte smiles. 

'All your vital signs are within the normal ranges so everything's looking good.' Owen grins. 'I'll check on you in a few hours once you're settled on the ward.' 

'Thank you.' Lucas smiles and nods gratefully. Owen nods before leaving. Once he's gone, Lucas sits down in the chair. 'Once you're out of here, I want you to come and stay with me. We'll go to your friend's house and pick up your stuff. I've got a spare bedroom.' Charlotte just stares at him. 'I just want to keep an eye on you.'

'Erm- I'm not staying at a friend's house.' Charlotte admits. 'I just said that so that social services wouldn't get involved.'

'Charlie.' Lucas sighs as he rubs his forehead.

'I've been staying at home on my own.' She adds.

'How long has your mom been away?' He asks. 

'Two months.' Charlotte says as she looks down. 'Her and Liam have been transferred to Ohio, temporarily, for work. They wanted me to stay here to save them the stress of finding me another high school since they didn't know how long they'll be there.' 

'You're definitely staying with me then.' Lucas raises an eyebrow. They then hear someone clear their throat and they look at the doorway. They see a man in a suit standing in the doorway. 

'Lucas Ripley?' They ask.

'Yeah?' Lucas nods.

'I'm John Jones. Do you mind if I have a word with you outside for a couple of minutes?' John asks. 

'Sure.' Lucas nods and walks out of the room and stands with John. 'What can I do for you?' 

'Like I said, my name is John Jones. I'm from the family courts in Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm here on behalf of Hailey Granger and Liam March.' John starts. 'You are now the full-time carer of your daughter, Charlotte Granger.' He informs him, handing over an envelope.


	4. Chapter 4

'My name is John Jones. I'm from the family courts in Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm here on behalf of Hailey Granger and Liam March.' John starts. 'You are now the full-time carer of your daughter, Charlotte Granger.' He informs Lucas, handing over an envelope. Lucas takes the envelope. 

'I've been to court for 50/50 custody before.' Lucas states. 'It was denied so why am I all of a sudden getting full custody and why couldn't Hailey come to me herself?' 

'Miss Granger and Mr March have been arrested for credit card fraud and bank robbery.' John replies. 'Miss Granger asked that full custody be transferred over to you. All you have to do is sign the papers in that envelope and I'll file them with the family courts here in Seattle and Cincinnati.' He adds. 'I'll be back in a few hours to collect the papers.' He then turns around and walks away. After a few minutes, Lucas walks back into Charlotte's room and sits back down. 

'Who was that?' Charlotte asks.

'It was someone from the family courts in Ohio.' Lucas tells her. 'Your mom and Liam have been arrested for credit card fraud and bank robbery.' 

'What?!' Charlotte exclaims. 

'I don't know the details but your mom has signed over full custody to me.' Lucas replies. 'So once you get out of here, I'll take you home and I'll help you pack.'

'What about everything else?' Charlotte queries. 

'We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.' He replies. 

'When I'm discharged, can you take me to meet your girlfriend?' Charlotte asks. 'I'd like to meet her.' 

'Of course.' Lucas smiles and nods. 'I also know someone who would _love_ to see you.'

.

It has been a week, Charlotte is being discharged from the hospital. Charlotte is getting changed into a shirt, leggings and canvas shoes that Lucas got her from the hospital shop whilst he signs the discharge paperwork at the nurse's station. He walks back into the room just as Charlotte is slipping her shoes on. 

'I've just signed your discharge paperwork so once the nurse has come with your prescription for your pain meds, I can take you home.' He tells her.

'Thank God.' Charlotte sighs as she stands up. 'I can't wait to get out of here. Not being able to go to the gym is _killing_ me.' 

'You won't be able to go back to the gym for another couple of months.' Lucas raises an eyebrow. 'Well, not like you're used to.' 

'Ugh.' Charlotte throws her head back. The nurse then walks in. 

'Hi, Charlie.' The nurse smiles. Charlotte looks at her. 'I have your prescription for your pain meds.' She hands Charlotte the prescription. Charlotte folds it up and puts it in her bag.. 'Going by your chart, I assume you already know what to do.' 

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods. 'Thank you.'

'No problem.' The nurse nods back. 'Now, remember, take it easy. You need to come back in a couple of weeks for a check-up. You'll have an appointment letter in the post in a few days. Your dad already changed your address on your file so you don't need to worry about it being sent to the wrong house.' She continues. 'Take care.' She then leaves.

'Before we go to yours and pack everything up, I'm going to take you to meet Victoria.' Luca informs her.

'I assume she's processed everything then?' Charlotte assumes.

'Yeah.' Lucas smiles and nods.

'She knows that I'll be living with you?' Charlotte makes sure. 

'She does.' Lucas nods. 'We don't live together yet anyways.' He continues. 'She also said that she'd like to meet you. She works at Station 19. I think you've already met a couple of the guys from there.' 

'Travis and Maya, I think.' Charlotte nods. 'The ones that brought me in.'

'Well, you'll find out soon enough.' Lucas says. 'Let's make a move.' 

.

Half an hour later, Lucas is pulling up in front of Station 19. 

'I've never asked, why did you accept the chief position?' Charlotte queries. 'Doesn't that require like a hell of a lot of paperwork?' She adds. 'You always used to tell me stories about the job and how you loved firefighting. I didn't think you'd ever give it up.' 

'I haven't given it up.' Lucas replies. 'I've just taken up another responsibility. It just means I can't go to as many calls anymore. I only really go to the big ones.' He shrugs. 'Let's go.' They both get out of the car, walk up the drive and into the station. They see that Travis is on reception. 

'Chief.' Travis nods as he stands up.

'Montgomery.' Lucas nods back. 'Is he in his office?' He asks as he points to Sullivan's office.

'He is.' Travis nods. 'Go ahead.' Lucas smiles and turns to Charlotte.

'Wait here, I'll be out in a minute.' He tells her. He then walks to the office, knocks on the door and walks in. As he does, Travis walks from behind the desk and up to Charlotte.

'Charlie, right?' He asks.

'Yeah.' Charlotte smiles and nods. 

'How are you?' Travis queries.

'Sore,' Charlotte responds, 'but good.' She adds with a slight nod. 'There's no long-lasting damage.' 

'That's good.' Travis smiles. 'Like you said, bumps and bruises.' 

'Yeah.' Charlotte laughs. Just then, Lucas and Sullivan walk out of the office.

'Are my eyes deceiving me or is that little Charlotte Granger?' Sullivan states smiling as walks up to the young girl. 

'Hey, Robbie.' Charlotte grins as they hug. The only person that Sullivan has ever allowed to call him Robbie is Charlotte.

'Look at you all grown up.' He says once they've parted.

'Well, it _has_ been a while since you saw me last.' Charlotte points out. 'Not so little anymore.' Sullivan turns to Travis. 

'Montgomery, can you go and find Hughes and tell her to come to my office?' Sullivan asks. 

'Sure.' Travis nods and walks off.

'Let's go into the office and do this.' Lucas tells Charlotte. The three of them walk into the office and sit down. A few minutes later, there's a knock at the door and Vic walks in. They all face her.

'You wanted to me, Captain.' She says. She then sees Lucas. 'Chief, hi.' 

'It's okay, he knows.' Lucas tells her. Vic walks in further and closes the door. As she does, Lucas and Charlotte stand up. 'I wanted to properly introduce you to my daughter.' Charlotte steps towards Vic. 'Vic, this is my daughter, Charlotte.' He introduces Charlotte to Vic. 'Charlie, this is my girlfriend, Victoria.' He introduces Vic to Charlotte.

'It's nice to finally meet you.' Charlotte smiles as she extends her hand.

'You too.' Vic smiles, shaking Charlotte's hand. Vic looks at Lucas. 'You could've waited until I finished my shift.' 

'I needed to stop by anyway.' Lucas replies. He turns to Sullivan. 'Do you mind if I speak to everyone?' 

'Sure.' Sullivan nods. 'Hughes, gather everyone in the beanery.' 

'On it.' Vic nods. 

Five minutes later, Lucas, Charlotte and Sullivan are stood in front of everyone in the beanery. 

'Chief Ripley would like a few words with you all.' Sullivan says before stepping back. Lucas steps forward. 

'Seeing as a few of you know already, I might as well tell the rest of you.' He starts. 'I have a daughter.' Charlotte steps forward. 'This is Charlotte, but she prefers to be called Charlie.' 

'Hi.' Charlotte waves awkwardly.

'You already know Hughes, Montgomery and Bishop.' Lucas points to Vic, Travis then Maya. 'This is Dean Miller,' he points to Dean, 'Jack Gibson,' he points to Jack, 'and Ben Warren.' He points to Ben.

'Nice to meet you all.' Charlotte nods. 

'Charlie will be staying me from now on.' Lucas states. 'Her mom and step-dad ran into a bit of trouble and-' 

'A _lot_ of trouble.' Charlotte corrects him. 'They robbed a bank and committed credit card fraud.' She sees Lucas glaring at her. 'What? I'm not gonna lie for them.' 

'Anyway.' Lucas says slowly as he looks back at everyone. 'Charlie has not long had surgery so we're going to need some help packing up her stuff to move to my house. I know it's a lot to ask but-'

'We're there.' Jack cuts him off. 'We'll be happy to help. Just give us the address and we'll be there after our shift in a couple of hours.' Everyone nods in agreement. 

'Thank you.' Lucas nods. 'I appreciate it.' 

Twenty minutes later, Charlotte and Lucas are on their way to pack up all of Charlotte's belongings. 

'Have you found out what we're supposed to do with mom's and Liam's stuff?' Charlotte queries. 

'Well, I spoke to the police and the FBI, I had to let them into the house so they could search it - they had a warrant - they've got all the evidence they need, so we just have to pack everything up and move it into storage.' He tells her. 'Don't worry, they didn't take anything of yours.'

.

It has been a few hours. Everyone from 19 is at Charlotte's helping pack everything up. Vic has offered to help Charlotte in her room so that they can get to know each other. Charlotte is sorting out her closet whilst Vic is sorting out the desk. 

'So, have you started looking at colleges yet?' Vic queries. 

'I'm taking a gap year.' Charlotte shakes her head. 'I'm not ready to go to college yet.' Vic opens the top drawer of the desk to clear it out but stops when she sees something. She picks it up and looks at the label to try and work out what they are.

'Erm, Charlie?' Vic asks. 

'Yeah?' Charlotte turns to face her. 

'What are these?' Vic looks at her, holding up a bottle of pills. 


	5. Chapter 5

Vic opens the top drawer of the desk to clear it out but stops when she sees something. She picks it up and looks at the label to try and work out what they are.

'Erm, Charlie?' Vic asks. 

'Yeah?' Charlotte turns to face her. 

'What are these?' Vic looks at her, holding up a bottle of pills. Charlotte walks up to Vic who is taking a closer look at the label. 'Sertraline?' Vic looks up at Charlotte. 'Isn't that-?'

'An anti-depressant?' Charlotte finishes. 'Yeah.' She nods. 'I've been on them for about six months.'

'Does your dad know?' Vic queries.

'No.' Charlotte shakes her head. 'I haven't found the right time to tell him yet.'

'May I ask why you're on them?'

'My swim coach caught me trying to overdose in the locker room after practice one day.' Charlotte replies. 'I don't remember most of that day. Probably because I had to be sedated a lot. One minute I was in the locker room, the next I was restrained to a bed in the ER. Apparently, I kept trying to either leave the hospital or kept going for scalpels and other sharps in the room.'

'Is it the first time that it's happened?' Vic asks. 'You trying to harm yourself?' Charlotte nods.

'I mean, I've struggled with low self-esteem, anxiety and the low mood for a few years but I kept bottling up. I guess it all just built up until finally-' Charlotte starts but then stops. 'The emergency psychiatrist that I spoke to did an assessment questionnaire thing and ran some tests; apparently, those showed that I have depression and that's that. They diagnosed me with clinical depression and stuck me on meds.' Vic looks on the drawer and spots another bottle of pills. 'Those are sleeping pills. I have really bad insomnia. I'm also on some anti-anxiety meds.'

'These are still quite full.' Vic points out.

'I've skipped a few doses.' Charlotte shrugs.

'Charlie!' Lucas shouts. Charlotte quickly grabs the pill bottles from Vic's hands and stuffs them into her pocket. Lucas walks into her room. 'You two okay?'

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods.

'We were just having a little chat.' Vic turns to face him. Charlotte walks back to her closet and continues to take her clothes out, fold them and put them in the box. 'We got talking about college.'

'Oh, yeah?' Lucas smiles looking at Charlotte.

'I was telling Vic how I'm taking a gap year.' Charlotte says.

'I didn't know that you were taking a gap year.' Lucas states.

'I'm not ready to go to college yet.' Charlotte shakes her head. 'I've got some work at a residential home for people with disabilities.' She continues. 'I want to go on to be a social worker.'

'That's good.' Lucas nods. 'I'm glad you two are getting along.'

'Me too.' Vic smiles.

'Anyways, we should be done soon so I was thinking that us three could go and get something to eat tonight?'

'Sure.' Vic nods.

'Sounds like a plan.' Charlotte agrees.

.

It's later that night. Charlotte, Vic and Lucas are sitting in a booth in a diner eating. All of Charlotte's stuff is in the car whereas everything else has been moved into storage or taken by the police for evidence.

'So, I'm going to take you to school tomorrow.' Lucas tells Charlotte. 'I need to speak to your principal about all of this and get the contact details and address on your file changed.'

'Well, I have to be there for seven thir-' Charlotte starts.

'Seven-thirty for debate club.' Lucas nods. 'I know. I remember you telling me when you first got on the team.' Charlotte smiles. 'I hope you put all your school stuff in one box.' Lucas says as he looks at his watch. 'You won't have time to unpack when we get home.'

'I made sure she did.' Vic responds.

'I take it the department doesn't know about you two?' Charlotte queries.

'No.' Vic shakes her head.

'Only Sully, Gibson and Montgomery.' Lucas adds. 'Technically, it's not allowed.'

'Breaking your own rules, huh.' Charlotte raises an eyebrow as she takes a sip of her soda.

'We're trying to figure out a way around it.' Lucas tells her.

'What about Auntie Jen?' Charlotte asks. 'Does she know?'

'Yeah.' Lucas nods. 'Of course, she does.'

'I just hope this doesn't end up like your previous relationships.' Charlotte states.

'Charlie.' Lucas says sternly.

'What?' Charlotte asks. 'Your track record with girlfriends and fiancé's and wives isn't the best.'

'I'm going to go and pay the bill.' Vic stands up and walks off to the counter. Once Vic has gone, Charlotte carries on.

'Out of everyone, mom included, Vic is the best. You act differently with her. Your smile is different. Genuine.' Charlotte says. 'She's the one, dad, don't screw it up.' She stands up. 'I'll wait outside by the car.' She then leaves.

As she's stood by the car, Cam, one of the waiters at the diner, is just arriving at work. He walks up to her.

'Excuse me?' He says.

'Yeah?' Charlotte looks at him.

'If you're thinking of breaking into that car,' he starts having recognised the car from when he caught Lucas and Vic having sex in the back of in the exact same spot, 'it wouldn't be such a good idea. You see, the man who owns the car sits in the same booth next to the window with his girlfriend every time he comes in.' He points to Lucas who is still waiting on Vic to pay the bill.

'I'm not going to break into the car,' Charlotte laughs as she shakes her head, 'and that man is my dad.'

'Your dad?' Cam asks shocked. 'I had no idea.'

'I gathered.' Charlotte laughs. 'I take it you work here?'

'I do.' Cam nods. 'Your dad and his girlfriend are regulars.' Lucas and Vic then approach them.

'I see you've met Cam.' Lucas says.

'Hi, guys.' Cam smiles at the couple. They both smile and nods.

'This is Charlotte, my daughter.' Lucas introduces Charlotte to Cam.

'I thought she was going to break into your car.' Cam tells Lucas with a laugh. 'I saw her loitering and-'

'You noticed I was a teenager and it's 10 pm.' Charlotte finishes. 'Anyone would think the same.' She looks at the other side of the street and spots someone. 'Can we go?' Charlotte asks Lucas. 'I'm tired.' She lies.

'Sure.' Lucas nods. 'We'll see you soon, Cam.' They all say goodbye, get in the car and leave.

.

When they arrive at Lucas' house, Lucas turns to face Charlotte.

'You go inside and get ready for bed, Vic and I will bring everything in. You remember where your room is, right?' Lucas hands her the house keys.

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods. She gets out of the car, walks up to the house and lets herself in. Once she's in the house, Lucas turns back to Vic.

'Did you notice that someone was watching us when we were talking to Cam?' He queries.

'No.' Vic shakes her head.

'Well, Charlotte took one look at whoever it was and wanted to leave.' Lucas tells her.

'She was probably just scared.' Vic puts her hand on the side of his face. 'You don't need to worry.' She plants a kiss on his lips. 'She's safe, here, with you.' She adds once they've parted. 'That's all that matters.' They kiss once more before getting out of the car and taking all of Charlotte's belongings into the house.


	6. Chapter 6

When they arrive at Lucas' house, Lucas turns to face Charlotte.

'You go inside and get ready for bed, Vic and I will bring everything in. You remember where your room is, right?' Lucas hands her the house keys.

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods. She gets out of the car, walks up to the house and lets herself in. Once she's in the house, Lucas turns back to Vic.

'Did you notice that someone was watching us when we were talking to Cam?' He queries.

'No.' Vic shakes her head.

'Well, Charlotte took one look at whoever it was and wanted to leave.' Lucas tells her.

'She was probably just scared.' Vic puts her hand on the side of his face. 'You don't need to worry.' She plants a kiss on his lips. 'She's safe, here, with you.' She adds once they've parted. 'That's all that matters.' They kiss once more before getting out of the car and taking all of Charlotte's belongings into the house.

.

It's the next morning. Charlotte wakes up at 6 o'clock and gets dressed. She quickly packs her school bag with her notebook, pencil case, books for the day and her homework before walking down the stairs. She places her bags by the door and walks through to the kitchen. Vic and Lucas are stood at the island, dressed for work.

'Morning.' Lucas smiles at his daughter.

'Morning.' Charlotte smiles back. 

'What do you want for breakfast?' Lucas asks her. 

'We always have breakfast as a team.' Charlotte replies. 'The teacher always brings in cereal, croissants, juice, coffee - whatever we say we want.' She sits down on a stool at the Island.

'Do you need picking up after school?' Lucas queries.

'I'll be fine.' Charlotte shakes her head. 'I'm going to a friend's anyway. I'll be home by nine.' Lucas looks at his watch.

'We better get going.' He says. He finishes his coffee, picks up his keys and bag and kisses Vic. 

'I'll see you later.' Vic smiles once they've parted.

'See you later.' Lucas smiles as he walks around to Charlotte.

'See ya, Vic.' Charlotte grins. Charlotte and Lucas turn around and leave. 

~

When Lucas pulls up in front of Charlotte's school, they see the principal, Mr Hill, waiting outside of the school. Lucas turns to face Charlotte. 

'I'll get you a set of keys cut whilst you're at school.' He tells her.

'Okay.' Charlotte nods. They both get out of the car and walk up to Mr Hill. 'Good morning, Mr Hill.' Charlotte smiles. 

'Good morning, Miss Granger.' Mr Hill nods. Charlotte turns to her father and gives him a hug. He kisses the top of her forehead. 

'I'll see you later, dad.' 

'See you later.' He smiles at her before watching her walk up the steps into the school. Once she's out of sight, Mr Hill turns to face Lucas.

'Your daughter is a bright kid.' Mr Hill tells Lucas. 'She's one of our top students. Let's go to my office.' Lucas follows Mr Hill to the office. They both sit at the desk. 'What can I do for you?' 

'Charlie's mom and step-dad were arrested recently.' Lucas informs Mr Hill. 'Given the charges, they won't be getting out any time soon so I now have full custody of Charlie.' 

'You want to change the contact details and address on her file?' Mr Hill asks. 

'If that's possible.' Lucas nods.

'Before I can change any details, I'll need proof that you are now her full-time guardian. An approved photocopy of the court paperwork will be fine.' Mr Hill states. He opens a drawer and takes out a file. 'To save time, if you fill out this paperwork and bring it in with the evidence, I'll be able to change Charlotte's file. The paperwork is her change in address and next of kin contact details as well as any other changes that may need to be put on her file such as any changes in her medical condition.' He hands the file with the paperwork in over to Lucas. 'It will be preferable if you can get it back to me by tomorrow. If you can't come in yourself, you can give everything to Charlotte and she can pass it on to me.' They both stand up and shake hands.

'I appreciate you taking the time out to speak to me.' Lucas says. 

'No problem.' Mr Hill nods. Lucas turns around leaves. 

As Lucas is walking outside, he spots someone who looks like the same person that was watching him, Charlotte and Vic last night. It's a young man who appears to be around Charlotte's age. He is leaning against a car. 

'Hey!' Lucas shouts. The young man quickly gets into his car and speeds off. He tries to read the licence plate but only gets half of it. He gets into his car, makes a note of the partial licence plate before making his way to work. 

~

It's lunchtime. Charlotte is sat in the courtyard on the grass eating and reading a book. 

'Only you're crazy enough to sit outside on the grass when it's this cold.' She hears someone say. She looks up to see her friend, Jason Williams. 

'It's fall, not winter.' Charlotte laughs. 'Are you going to stand there or are you going to sit down?' She raises an eyebrow. Jason laughs and sits down in front of her.

'I saw you last night.' Jason states.

'That was you?!' Charlotte exclaims. 'Why didn't you just come over?' 

'You looked scared. Did you think I was-?' 

'We don't talk about him.' Charlotte cuts him off.

'He was outside the school earlier.' Jason says. The colour drains from Charlotte's face. 'You okay?' Charlotte just nods. 'He's not going to hurt you again.' He reassures her.

'You don't know that.' Charlotte shakes her head.

'Your dad still doesn't know what happened, does he?' Jason questions. Charlotte stays silent. 'Charl, you need to tell him.'

'What am I supposed to tell him?' Charlotte asks. 'Jase, those three months were torture. Literally.'

'I know.' Jason nods.

'I can't relive that. I still can't sleep. I'm on stronger anti-depressants. They want to admit me to an inpatient facility.' Charlotte says as tears start dripping from her eyes.

'Hey.' He whispers as he leans forward and wipes the tears away with his thumb. 'It's okay. You're going to be okay.' Charlotte smiles slightly. 

'What would I do with you?', she smiles, 'my gaystie.' She adds with a little laugh. 

'I thought we agreed we weren't going to to use that phrase anymore.' Jason raises an eyebrow. 

'I think it's making a come back.' Charlotte smirks. Jason looks at his watch.

'We better get to class.' Jason says. 

'We?' Charlotte asks as Jason helps her up.

'Oh, yeah.' Jason smiles and nods. 'I transferred here. It was whilst you were in the hospital.' Charlotte punches him in the arm. 'OW!' He exclaims, rubbing his arm. 'What the fuck was that for?!' 

'For not telling me.' Charlotte replies. 'You visited me in the hospital all the time, we text every day - you didn't think to mention it to me?' 

'I wanted it to be a surprise.' Jason smiles. 'Come on.' He picks her bag up and hands it to her. 'We have algebra.' 

'Ugh.' Charlotte groans. 

~

It gets to 8 pm. Charlotte is just walking through the door. 

'Hello?' She shouts. She walks through to the front room. 'What's going on?' She asks seeing Ryan and Lucas sat on the sofa. 

'This is Officer Tanner.' Lucas starts. 

'I remember.' Charlotte nods. Lucas looks at her confused. 'From when I got hit by that car.' 

'Right.' Lucas sighs and nods.

'We need to talk to you.' Lucas continues.

'About what?' Charlotte asks confused. 

'Your stalker.' Ryan states. 


	7. Chapter 7

It gets to 8 pm. Charlotte is just walking through the door.

'Hello?' She shouts. She walks through to the front room. 'What's going on?' She asks seeing Ryan and Lucas sat on the sofa.

'This is Officer Tanner.' Lucas starts.

'I remember.' Charlotte nods. Lucas looks at her confused. 'From when I got hit by that car.'

'Right.' Lucas nods.

'We need to talk to you.' Lucas continues.

'About what?' Charlotte asks confused.

'Your stalker.' Ryan states. Charlotte just laughs.

'Charlie, this is serious.' Lucas raises an eyebrow.

'I don't have a stalker.' Charlotte laughs as she shakes her head.

'You saw someone across the road from the diner and you looked petrified and then this morning, the same person was outside the school this morning.' Lucas says. Charlotte sighs, puts her bag down on the floor and sits down. 

'The guy that I saw outside the diner was my best friend, Jason.' Charlotte replies. 'I thought he was someone else. I thought he was the guy that you saw outside the school. Jason also saw him and told me.' She continues. 'Look, I'm fine. No-one is stalking me or following me. If they were, I'd tell you.'

'Who was the guy outside the school?' Ryan asks. 

'It doesn't matter.' Charlotte shakes her head. She sees Lucas staring at her and sighs. 'His name is Matteo Gonzalez. He's 20. He's the younger brother of Liam. Well, half-brother. They share the same mom different dad. Liam took his dads surname and Matteo took his moms.' 

'So it's Matteo that you're scared of?' Ryan queries.

'I don't want to talk about this anymore.' Charlotte says as she stands up. 'I've got some homework to do.' She picks her bag up and then walks upstairs to her room. When they hear her door close, Lucas turns to Ryan. 

'Something isn't right.' Lucas tells Ryan. 

'I agree.' Ryan nods. 'Her body language and the way she didn't want to talk about it rings alarms bells.'

'I'm not going to lie, Charlie and I haven't been close.' Lucas states. 'Maybe that's why she wouldn't open up, but I just want to know what's going on.'

'The name she gave matches up with the DMV record.' Ryan adds. 'I can't do much at this point since Charlotte hasn't said that there has been a crime, however, what I _can_ do is look into this Matteo guy and his history with Charlotte but I can't promise that anything will come up.' 

'Thank you.' Lucas nods appreciatively. 'I'll try speaking to her and let you know if she tells me anything.' Ryan nods and Lucas shows him out. Once Ryan has left, Lucas decides to see if Charlotte has had anything to eat. He walks up the stairs, to her room and knocks on the door. As he walks in, he sees Charlotte is putting something in the drawer to her bedside cabinet, muttering to herself. She quickly closes the drawer, stands up straight and turns to face him. 'Everything okay?' 

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods. 'What's up?' 

'Have you had anything to eat?' He asks her. 

'Yeah.' Charlotte responds. 'I went to Jason's after school and had something to eat there.' She says. 'His mom and dad never let me leave their house without having something to eat.' She adds with a little giggle. 

'This Jason.' Lucas starts. 'Is he your-?' 

'Boyfriend?' Charlotte finishes for him. 'God, no.' She laughs. 'He's gay. We're just really good friends.' 

'Ah.' Lucas says. 'Listen, I know that our relationship hasn't been the best but you know that you can talk to me about anything, right?' 

'I know.' Charlotte nods as she sits on her bed. 'I just don't want to talk about it right now. I'm not ready and you are definitely not ready to hear what I have to say.'

'If Matteo-' Lucas starts to say.

'This has nothing to do with Matteo.' Charlotte lies.

'I'm covering as Captain at 19 tomorrow.' Lucas informs her. 'I want you to come to the station straight after school.' 

'Dad-'

'It's not because you're in trouble.' He says. 'I just want to spend some time with you.' 

'Okay.' Charlotte nods. 

~~

The next day, after school, Charlotte walks to Station 19. She sees that Jack is on reception. 

'Charlie, hey.' Jack smiles.

'Hi.' Charlotte smiles back as she leans on the front desk. 'Jack, right?' She asks. 

'Yeah.' Jack nods. 'You here for your dad?' He questions.

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods.

'He's in the office.' Jack tells her.

'Thanks.' Charlotte smiles, stands up straight, drops her bag and walks to the office door. 

'With Vic.' Jack adds before she can knock.

'Oh.' Charlotte drops her hand. 'Eurgh.' She scrunches up her face causing Jack to laugh. She steps back and walks back to Jack. She picks her bag up from the floor.

'Here,' Jack pulls over one of the chairs, 'you might want to sit down. They could be a while.'

'Please don't put any more gross images in my head.' Charlotte laughs as she walks behind the desk and sits on the other chair. Once she has put her bag back down on the floor, she gets her phone out. 'I don't think they'll be much longer.' She taps out a message, sends it and puts her phone in her lap. A few minutes later, Lucas walks out of the office with Vic.

'Hi, Charlie.' Vic smiles awkwardly before walking up to the beanery.

'Really?' Lucas raises an eyebrow as he holds up his phone. Charlotte has a massive grin on her face.

'What did you send him?' Jack asks Charlotte. Charlotte picks her phone back up and shows Jack the message she sent Lucas.

**To: Dad**

**Kissy kissy, smoochy smoochy, bang bang**

Jack and Charlotte start laughing.

'Very mature.' Lucas nods sarcastically. He puts his hand down, slips his phone into his pocket and walks over to Charlotte. 'At least I don't have to worry about all of this with you.' Charlotte sees that Jack has a half-confused, half-"you sure about that?" look on his face.

'I'm panromantic asexual.' Charlotte tells him. 'Panromantic means that I'm romantically attracted to people regardless of their sex or the gender that they identify as. Asexual means that I feel no, or little sexual attraction to people but some asexual people _do_ choose to partake in sexual activity.' She notices that Jack looks even more confused. 'Don't worry. A lot of people don't understand it. Even dad doesn't fully understand it yet.' She adds with a laugh. 'You'll understand it more as you get to know me.'

'How long have you been out?' Jack asks.

'Three years.' Charlotte replies. 'I went to San Francisco pride with a few of my friends this year.'

'I still don't know why your mom let you go all that way on your own.' Lucas shakes his head. 'Anyway, how was school?'

'Good.' Charlotte nods.

'Any homework to do?' Lucas queries.

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods. 'I've got some math and an English Lit essay to do for tomorrow.'

'Why don't you start on your Math homework. I've got some paperwork to finish and then we can have a little chat.' Lucas tells her. 'I'll be about half an hour to an hour.'

'Okay.' Charlotte nods. Lucas turns around and returns to the office, closing the door behind him. She takes her math homework and pencil case out of her bag and wheels herself over to the desk next to Jack, placing them on the desk, she opens her notebook, takes out the sheet of questions and gets a pencil out of her pencil case. She starts looking at her questions and after a few minutes of struggling, she starts tapping her pencil on the desk.

'Are you struggling?' Jack queries.

'Math has never been my strongest subject. I've been struggling with it since I was in Elementary School.' Charlotte sighs. 'I've been put in a group at school to help me but it's not working.'

'Tell you what,' Jack starts, 'how about you work through some questions and then I'll have a look at them to see how you did.'

'Are you sure?' Charlotte asks.

'Yeah.' Jack nods. 'Take your time.' 

Forty minutes later, Lucas walks out of the office.

'Charlie.' He states. Charlotte looks up at him. 'I'm going to go grab a drink, do you want one?'

'Water, please.' Charlotte nods.

'Gibson?' Lucas looks at Jack.

'I'm fine, thanks.' Gibson shakes his head. Lucas nods and walks up to the beanery. Vic is stood at the counter helping Travis making dinner.

'Vic said that Charlie's here.' Travis says as Lucas opens the fridge. He takes out two bottles of water and turns back to face Travis and Vic.

'She is.' Lucas nods. 'She's just doing some homework.'

'How has she settled in?' Travis queries.

'Ask me that in a few weeks.' Lucas laughs. 'She's probably still getting used to staying with me.'

'Did you and Ryan speak to her?' Vic asks Lucas.

'Yeah.' Lucas replies. 'She explained a small part of it and then shut us down.'

'Give her time.' Vic reassures him.

'What happened?' Travis asks confused.

'Charlie saw someone the other night, she got freaked out and then when I was dropping her off at school yesterday, I saw someone who looked like the person she saw the other night.' Lucas explains. 'The guy she saw the other night was one of her friends and the guy I saw was apparently some guy called Matteo. She told me he's Liam's, her step-dad, half-brother. Since she didn't say much, Ryan offered to look into it for me.' He continues. 'I'm going to have a chat with her now but I won't say anything. I want to see if she says anything to me without me asking.' 

~~

It has been a few days. Charlotte hasn't said anything more on the Matteo situation, Remembering from the other day when Charlotte quickly shut her bedside table drawer, he decides to go and have a look whilst she's at school. Meanwhile, at school, Charlotte is in her Math class when the guidance counsellor walks, Amy, walks in.

'Sorry to interrupt, Mr Shaw,' Amy apologises to Mr Shaw, the teacher, 'can I borrow Charlotte Granger? She'll need her things.' 

'Of course.' Mr Shaw nods before looking at Charlotte. 'Miss Granger.' Charlotte stands up, puts all of her belongings into her bag and leaves the classroom with Amy.

'What's this about?' Charlotte asks Amy. 

'I have no idea.' Amy shakes her head. They walk to her office down the hall. When they walk in, Charlotte sees Ryan. 

'What's going on?' Charlotte asks. 

'Can we have some privacy, please?' Ryan asks Amy.

'Of course.' Amy nods before walking out.

'Officer Tanner?' Charlotte questions.

'Operation Potter.' Ryan simply states.


	8. Chapter 8

It has been a few days. Charlotte hasn't said anything more on the Matteo situation, Remembering from the other day when Charlotte quickly shut her bedside table drawer, he decides to go and have a look whilst she's at school. Meanwhile, at school, Charlotte is in her Math class when the guidance counsellor walks, Amy, walks in.

'Sorry to interrupt, Mr Shaw,' Amy apologises to Mr Shaw, the teacher, 'can I borrow Charlotte Granger? She'll need her things.'

'Of course.' Mr Shaw nods before looking at Charlotte. 'Miss Granger.' Charlotte stands up, puts all of her belongings into her bag and leaves the classroom with Amy.

'What's this about?' Charlotte asks Amy.

'I have no idea.' Amy shakes her head. They walk to her office down the hall. When they walk in, Charlotte sees Ryan.

'What's going on?' Charlotte asks.

'Can we have some privacy, please?' Ryan asks Amy.

'Of course.' Amy nods before walking out.

'Officer Tanner?' Charlotte questions.

'Operation Potter.' Ryan simply states.

'You know about that?' Charlotte asks. They both sit down.

'I was concerned the other day when you shut your father and I down so I did some digging.' Ryan tells her. 'Matteo Gonzalez.' He adds. 'He was much more than just your step-uncle, wasn't he?' Charlotte looks down and wipes the tears that have just fallen from her eyes. 'He was your captor.' Ryan states. 'Your torturer.' He adds. 'Your rapist.' Charlotte looks back up at him. 'He was picking you up from school one day when he took you to a house in Port Townsend. He locked you in the basement, starved you, beat you and raped you pretty much every day for three months. It was put out as Operation Potter in the media because you're mom didn't want your name and face out in the media. Your step-dad knows people high in the legal system, in D.C, and blackmailed them into signing a court order for full media privacy. He apparently blackmailed law enforcement into keeping the whole thing from your dad. The police found you because Matteo was a suspect in a drugs case. A S.W.A.T. team went to investigate the house and found you. That was almost a year ago.'

'Matteo had a damn good lawyer.' Charlotte says. 'He got every single damn thread of evidence thrown out. My statements. The pictures. The rape kits. _Everything._ ' She continues. 'I'm on anti-depressants and sleeping pills because of what happened.' She fiddles with the sleeve of her sweater. 'The depression has been getting that bad that my shrinks are talking about admitting me to an inpatient treatment facility. They're testing me for PTSD.' 

'Does your dad-' 

'No. My mom hasn't told him and I haven't. I can't.' Charlotte cuts him off, shaking her head. 'I don't know how to.' There are a few moments of silence. 'I know you probably promised my dad that you'd let him know if you found anything but please, leave this to me to tell him. I'd rather it come from me and I know that he'd rather it come from me.'

'I wasn't going to tell him anyway.' Ryan shakes his head. He gets a card out of his pocket and hands it to her. 'This is my number. If you ever need to talk or whatever, give me a call.' Charlotte takes the card and smiles slightly. 

'Thanks.' 

'If you'd prefer to talk in person, you can stop by the police station and ask for me.' Ryan says as he stands up. 'I've got to get back to work. Remember what I said.' Charlotte nods and Ryan leaves. A few minutes later, Amy walks back in. She notices that Charlotte has been crying. 

'Charlotte, is everything okay?' Amy asks.

'Yeah.' Charlotte nods as she stands up. 'Erm, can I be excused for the rest of the day.' 

'Of course.' Amy nods as she walks to her desk. 'Office Tanner suggested that you take the rest of the day off, anyway.' She sits at her desk and gets out a piece of paper and a pen. 'I'll write you a note. Just hand it to the ladies at the front desk when you are signing out.' She writes the note and hands it to Charlotte. 'Take care of yourself.' Charlotte nods and walks out. Before she heads to the front desk, she goes to her locker and gets out what she'll need to complete her homework for the night.

Later that day, Charlotte is walking through the front door at her usual time. She takes her coat off and hangs it up before walking through to the kitchen. She walks to the fridge and gets herself a can of soda. When she turns back around, she sees Lucas standing at the counter making her jump. 

'God, dad!' She puts her hand on her chest. 'You scared me.' She sighs as she drops her hand. She opens the can and takes a sip of the soda.

'Where were you today?' He asks her. 

'At school.' Charlotte replies.

'All day?' Lucas raises an eyebrow.

'Yeah.' Charlotte lies. 'Where else would I be?'

'You see, I got a call from the school saying that you weren't in history.' Lucas says and Charlotte looks to the floor. 'That's was at 11 o'clock this morning. It's now half-five.' He continues. 'So I will ask again.' He says more sternly. 'Where were you?' 

'I went to the library.' Charlotte replies, looking back up. 

'What happened for you to be excused before lunch?' Lucas asks her. Just then, Vic walks in. 

'Hey, what's going on?' She question.

'Charlotte was just about to tell me why she skipped school earlier.' Lucas keeps his eyes locked on Charlotte. 

'I didn't skip school! The guidance counsellor let me go early! I signed out at the front desk! You can even call Amy!' 

'Who's Amy?' Vic asks confused. 

'The school's guidance counsellor.' Charlotte replies. 

'Does today have anything to do with these?' Lucas reaches into his pocket, takes out a bag of pills and places it on the counter. 'Why were they in your room?' 

'Dad.' Charlotte sighs. 

'What are they?' He questions. 

'Dad.' Charlotte tries to get his attention.

'Molly?' He asks.

'Lucas, let her explain.' Vic says.

'Ketamine?' Lucas keeps going. 

'Dad.' Charlotte says louder.

'LSD?' Lucas' voice also gets louder. 'PCP?' 

'Antidepressants!' Charlotte shouts. 'They're antidepressants,' she says quieter, 'and sleeping pills. I've been on them for seven months.' 

'Why aren't they in bottles?' Lucas queries. 'Why are you even on them?' 

'I didn't want to risk you coming across the bottles and asking questions, I'm not ready for.' Charlotte says. 'The circular ones are the antidepressants and the oval ones are the sleeping pills.' She continues. 'As for why I'm on them, can we talk about that?' She asks him. 'Now?' 

'Of course.' Lucas nods.

'I'll give you two some space.' Vic says, going to walk out.

'Vic.' Charlotte stops her. Vic turns back to face her. 'I want you to hear this.'

'I think it should be just you and your dad.' Vic states. Charlotte shakes her head. 

'You're part of this family now, Vic.' Charlotte says. 'I want you to hear it.' 


	9. Chapter 9

'Antidepressants!' Charlotte shouts. 'They're antidepressants,' she says quieter, 'and sleeping pills. I've been on them for seven months.'

'Why aren't they in bottles?' Lucas queries. 'Why are you even on them?'

'I didn't want to risk you coming across the bottles and asking questions, I'm not ready for.' Charlotte says. 'The circular ones are the antidepressants and the oval ones are the sleeping pills.' She continues. 'As for why I'm on them, can we talk about that?' She asks him. 'Now?'

'Of course.' Lucas nods.

'I'll give you two some space.' Vic says, going to walk out.

'Vic.' Charlotte stops her. Vic turns back to face her. 'I want you to hear this.'

'I think it should be just you and your dad.' Vic states. Charlotte shakes her head.

'You're part of this family now, Vic.' Charlotte says. 'I want you to hear it.' Vic smiles slightly and they all walk through to the front room and sit on the sofa. 'I know you asked Ryan to look into why I've been so distant.' She starts. She sees that Lucas is about to say something. 'It's okay. You were worried about me.' She adds. 'It involves Matteo.' 

'I thought you said that this has nothing to do with him.' He looks back at Charlotte. 

'I lied.' Charlotte looks down. 

'Why?' Vic asks.

'I wasn't ready to speak about it.' Charlotte looks up. 'About a year ago, Matteo picked me up from school. Instead of taking me home, he took me to this house in Port Townsend. He locked me in the basement and kept me there for three months. He tortured me, beat me and raped me more or less every day.' Charlotte can see Lucas' face going red. 'Did you hear about Operation Potter?' 

'Yeah.' Lucas and Vic nod together. 

'That was me.' Charlotte says. 'Liam blackmailed people in D.C for full media privacy since mom didn't want my name and face in the media.' 

'Why didn't your mom tell me?' Lucas asks angrily. 'Or the police for that matter?' 

'You know mom.' Charlotte laughs slightly. 'She's never really told you anything when it comes to me.' She adds. 'As for the police, they think that he blackmailed the police into not telling you. The police found me, unexpectedly, on a raid. Matteo was a suspect in a drugs case.'

'Is this Matteo not in prison?' Vic questions.

'No.' Charlotte shakes her head. 'He had a really good lawyer. Everything was thrown out. He got away with it.' Lucas moves next to his daughter. 'I was put on the sleeping pills a couple of weeks after being found. I couldn't sleep at all. I still can't.'

'What about the anti-depressants?' Lucas queries. 

'I was put on them a couple of months after being found.' Charlotte responds. 'Shortly after going back to school, my swim coach found me trying to overdose in the locker room.' She looks at Lucas with tears in her eyes. 'I know I should have told you but I-'

'It's okay.' He puts his arm around her shoulder. She starts crying. 'I understand why you didn't tell me.' Vic sits the other side of Charlotte and puts her hand on Charlotte's back. 'Promise me that you'll always speak to me, if not someone else, when you're feeling down or you feel like you want to hurt yourself. Okay?' Charlotte says nothing, she just nods. 

.

It's a few hours later, Charlotte is lying on her bed on her phone when she gets a text message from Jason.

**From: Jason**

**Look outside babes x**

Charlotte looks at the message confused before getting off her bed, walking to her window and looking out to the street (her bedroom is in the front of the house). She sees Jamie standing on the front lawn waving at her. She just smiles and shakes her head and walks out of her room, down the stairs and out to him. 

'What are you doing here?' She asks as she hugs him. 

'Well, when you text me saying that you told your dad about what happened, I thought that I'd come and see how you're doing.' Jason says as they part. 

'Come inside.' Charlotte says grabbing his hand. 'It's freezing out here and you haven't met my dad yet.' She pulls him up to the front door and into the house. 

'Will your dad be fine with you inviting me in without asking him?' Jason questions. 

'Of course.' Charlotte nods. 'He already knows that you're gay.' 

'You talk about me?' Jason asks surprised. 

'You're my best friend.' Charlotte smiles. 'Of course I do. Come on.' She leads him to the front room where Lucas and Vic are sat on the sofa watching TV. 'Dad?' Lucas and Vic look at them. 'This is Jason.' Lucas mutes the TV and stands up. 'My best friend.'

'It's nice to meet you, Mr Ripley.' Jason extends his hand. Lucas just stares at him until he catches sight of Charlotte with her eyebrow raised. 

'Call me Lucas.' Lucas shakes his hand. 

'This is my dad's girlfriend, Vic.' Charlotte introduces Vic to Jason.

'Nice to meet you.' Jason nods at Vic. 

'You too.' Vic smiles. 

'Jase helped me through a lot when I got back.' Charlotte says. Lucas looks at Charlotte and then back at Jason.

'I was about to start making dinner, why don't you stay?' Lucas tells him. Jason looks at Charlotte who nods.

'Sure.' Jason looks back at Lucas. 'I'll text my mom and let her know.'

'We're going to go up to my room.' Charlotte tells her dad. Both Charlotte and Jason go to walk up to Charlotte's room.

'Charlie.' Lucas stops her. Charlotte turns back to face him. 'I know he's gay and all but-'

'I'll keep my door open.' She finishes. She then walks up the stairs and to Charlotte's room. 

'You've got to trust her.' Vic tells Lucas as he sits back beside her. 

'I _do_ trust her,' Lucas says, 'but after what she told us earlier, I don't feel that comfortable leaving her in a closed room with a boy. I'm just trying to protect her.'

'I know you are.' Vic nods. 'Charlie wouldn't go up there with him if she wasn't comfortable with being with him alone.'

'I guess.' Lucas sighs and nods. 

'You're still going to check on her every ten minutes aren't you?' Vic says.

'Of course.' Lucas nods whilst laughing.

It has been an hour, Lucas walks up to Charlotte's room and knocks on the door. Charlotte and Jason are lying on the bed watching a film. They look at him.

'Dad, this is the billionth time you've come up here.' Charlotte laughs as she sits up. 'You don't need to keep checking up on me.' 

'I came up to tell you that dinner's ready.' Lucas tells her. 'Come on.' He then walks off. 

'C'mon, Jase.' Charlotte pulls Jason upright. 'My dad's cooking is the best.'

'Are you just saying that because he's your dad?' Jason raises an eyebrow.

'I guess you're about to find out.' Charlotte grins. They both stand up, walks down the stairs and to the kitchen. The food is already laid on the table and Lucas and Vic are already sat down eating. Charlotte and Jason sit at the table and start eating. 

'So, Jason, how come I've never met you before?' Lucas queries.

'Erm-' Jason laughs nervously whilst looking at Charlotte. 'I moved out of Seattle to Tacoma to live with my mom a little over two years ago. I've just moved back in with dad. We live a couple of blocks away actually.' 

'So I can expect you over a lot more and Charlie being at yours all the time?' Lucas asks.

'Yep.' Charlotte answers before Jason can. 'Jase looks after me.' She adds, putting her arm around Jason and bringing him for a side hug. She lets go of him so he can carry on eating. 

'I should hope so.' Lucas states seriously. 

'Dad.' Charlotte raises an eyebrow. 'You're doing the overprotective father thing.' 

'That's what dads are for.' Vic points out. 'That and being embarrassing.'

'And the terrible dad jokes.' Charlotte adds. 

'My jokes are _not_ terrible.' Lucas points out.

'Yes.' Charlotte nods. 'Yes, they are.' 

'Let's hear one.' Jason says. 

'Don't encourage him!' Charlotte playfully slaps his arm. 

'I want to hear one too.' Vic says. Lucas grins and Charlotte groans. 

'Okay.' Lucas wiggles in his seat as he thinks of a joke. 'How does a penguin build its house?' He asks.

'Igloos it together.' Both Lucas and Charlotte say together. The room is filled with silence.

'C'mon, it wasn't that bad.' Lucas states.

'It wasn't bad, dad.' Charlotte replies. 'It was terrible. Absolutely terrible.' Lucas is about to interrupt when Charlotte's phone rings. 

'Charlotte you know how I feel about phones when we're eating.' Lucas states sternly.

'Sorry.' Charlotte apologises. She declines the call and puts her phone back in her pocket. After a couple of minutes, it rings again. 

'Go answer it and then put it on a silent.' Lucas tells her. Charlotte nods, stands up and walks out of the room to answer her phone. She returns five minutes later and sits back down. 'Who was it?' 

'It doesn't matter.' Charlotte shakes her head. 

'Charlotte, I'd rather you didn't keep secrets from me.' Lucas says. 'Who was it?' 

'It was Ryan.' Charlotte responds.

'Why is Ryan calling you?' Lucas questions.

'They think they've found Matteo's body.' 


End file.
